


Our Bond Is Tried And True

by Kamechan98



Series: Stony Prompts [11]
Category: Avengers (Comics), Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Banter, Cute, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Protective Steve Rogers, Sad with a Happy Ending, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21737296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamechan98/pseuds/Kamechan98
Summary: Prompt: “I don't want to think about what I’d be like without you.”It's been months since Steve returned from Syria and proposed to Tony at the airport and they're perfectly happy with their lives together at their apartment and just being together.It's a shame some people have to try and ruin it though.Sequel to Young, Broke, Stupid and Ridiculously Happy
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Stony Prompts [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1351792
Comments: 5
Kudos: 99





	Our Bond Is Tried And True

**Author's Note:**

> So, I decided to write a sequel to one of my favorite stories on here, because it’s so gosh-darn sweet and I wanted to write more of it. So you might want to read Young, Stupid, Broke And Ridiculously Happy in case you haven’t already.

**Prompt: “I don't want to think about what I’d be like without you.”**

* * *

Tony sighed in contentment as he sat down on the couch with a cup of coffee and placed his laptop on his lap. Finally a day off and he had taken care of everything he needed to do. The laundry was taken care of, he had cleaned the apartment, and now all that was left was paying the bills for the month before he could kick back and relax.

Or, well, he would. Just as soon as Steve came home from work and his run to the grocery store on the way back. Then they would sit back on the couch, order take-out for dinner and then sit back and watch Netflix together, just like they did whenever both of them were free from work.

Ever since Steve had come back from his last tour- and had proposed to him, which _still_ blew Tony’s mind- they had started to really build a life together as adults and a couple. They had started to look at new apartments and managed to find a nice, homey apartment, a little closer to New York. It wasn’t much, the kitchen and living room was one big room, to the point where they didn’t even have room for a dining table and just ate their meals on the couch in front of the TV most of the time and the hallway was a bit too narrow for Tony’s liking. But it was still bigger and way cozier than their old place had been and it just felt much more like a home to both of them. And it didn’t matter how big it was, because it was theirs, their cozy little place that they could make into a home all on their own. The rest was completely irrelevant as far as Tony was concerned.

Tony, while still working as a car mechanic, started to plan out starting a company of his own along with a few friends, since his father had more or less disowned him for dating Steve and rejecting Stark Industries and its legacy. It wasn’t much at the moment, just an idea, but Tony really had his goals set on working with technology and especially with green energy.

“It’s the future.” He’d told Steve when he explained his vision to him. “Once Stark Solutions gets off the ground and I get the funding I need, believe you me, I will make sure that fossil fuel will be a thing of the past.” And Steve, of course, had been quick to show his full support and hugged and kissed him all while asking if there was anything he could do to help.

As for Steve, he had taken a job as an instructor/personal trainer at a gym close by their home, but he was also working on art commissions every now and then, hoping to make a name for himself as an artist. Of course he knew better than to set all of his hopes on making it big, especially right away, but Tony was always there to support him and give his opinions on Steve’s work or ideas for the future. He also looked up art galleries, contests and other ways for Steve to put his art out for the world to see, to help him get his foot in the door.

Nothing too big had happened so far on either end of their plans, but Tony was sure their big breaks would come soon. And besides, they were still young, not even twenty-five years old yet and had their whole lives ahead of them. They were in no hurry and were not hurting for money at the moment. They had a roof over their heads, food in their bellies and everything they needed until they got there. Not to mention they had each other and were engaged and that was much more than Tony ever could have hoped for when things were at their worst back when they were still in high school. Steve had helped him through some serious shit back then, either by just being a shoulder to lean on, to hold him and comfort him whenever he had drunk too much or had anxiety attacks or to offer him a place of refuge whenever Howard had been especially terrible or even violent with him.

Tony smiled softly and took a sip of his coffee as he started to pay the bills. Yeah, if Steve hadn’t been around for most of his life, he probably wouldn’t have survived his teen years, so he was more than happy with their lives at the moment. He was in no hurry for big houses or lavish lifestyles. He’d had way too much of that in his childhood anyway.

And speaking of the devil, he didn’t have to wait for very long after having started to pay the bills before he heard the key turn in the lock and then the door opened. There was a rustle of clothes as Steve took his jacket off and then he came in with a paper bag in his arms. Steve smiled warmly at Tony and placed the bag on the kitchen counter.

“Hi sweetheart. You done everything that needed to be done?” Tony nodded and took a sip off his coffee. They’d always made a point to split the chores evenly, depending on time, income and other factors. And despite how Tony had never needed to lift a finger as far as chores went when he was a kid and had to be taught how to clean and do the dishes once he and Steve had moved in together after they’d moved to Boston for college, he’d always made sure to pull his own weight. Especially since he had a slightly higher income than Steve at the moment.

“Yeah. Laundry’s just done, folded and put back in the closet. The apartment’s clean and I’m just about done with everything.” Steve’s smile widened and he came over to the couch to place a soft kiss to his temple.

“Thanks babe. You’re the best.” He then walked over to the counter and started to unpack the groceries. “By the way, can you pay the bills today? I don’t get paid until tomorrow.” Tony smirked and picked up his laptop again.

“Already on it. And I handled the rent this morning too. We’re all set with the payments for this month.” Steve smiled and put away the milk in the refrigerator.

“Great. Glad to have that over and done with.” He then picked up the list and looked it over with a small grimace. “So, I got all the groceries. Except for this last one on the list. Is that an actual word, or did you just scribble something random with your elbow? I mean, what is _queen-wah_?”

Tony narrowed his eyes and put his laptop aside before coming over to Steve, looking over his shoulder at the list and then chuckled a little. “Babe, it says _quinoa_. C’mon Steve, my handwriting’s not _that_ bad, you can read it just fine.”

Steve scrunched his nose, both confused and annoyed. “What? Quinoa, that can’t be a thing, right?” Tony laughed a little and shook his head at his fiancé. Sometimes he wondered how he’d managed to become engaged to such an adorable idiot, but then re-read that thought and then he remembered.

Well that, and the fact that Steve Rogers was a loving, caring and sweet guy, not to mention inhumanly handsome, but whatever.

“Quinoa is, in fact, a thing, honey. It’s this seed that is really good for you and it’s delicious in a salad or as a substitution for rice or pasta. And considering how much you want me to eat better I figured you would approve. Why didn’t you Google it, or call if you didn’t know what it was?” Steve groaned and put away the last few groceries.

“My phone died at work and I left my charger here so I couldn’t recharge it. But I’ve learned my lesson, next time I go grocery shopping alone I’ll either bring my phone fully charged to we’ll go through the list together before I leave. Just so I know you’re not fucking with me.”

Tony rolled his eyes with a laugh and pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “Okay, okay, as you wish Mr. Bossypants. Sorry I didn’t check with you and your list before you left, not my fault you’re such an idiot.”

Steve huffed out a laugh and wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist, pulling him close and resting his forehead against Tony’s, their noses almost touching. “Well, I may be an idiot but I’m _your_ idiot. And you’re the one in a relationship with me, have stayed with me since were fifteen and have said yes to marry me. So what does that say about you, mister?”

Smirking teasingly, Tony stood on his toes and pressed a kiss to his nose. “Well, I guess you’ve been rubbing off on me, babe. And it’s a travesty really, that my genius brain has been subjected to your stupidity for this long. I should really just return your ring and leave your vicinity immediately and find someone of equal intelligence as me. Which might be a very difficult task, but it’s probably better than staying with a blonde muscle idiot for the rest of my life.”

Steve chuckled and shook his head softly, tightening his grip around Tony and pressed an equally soft and affectionate kiss to Tony’s temple. “Aw come on, sweetheart, like I’d ever let you go. You’d have to fight extremely hard with me to convince me to ever let go of you.” His smile turned unbelievably soft and he nuzzled his nose against his fiancé’s with such a sweet and adoring smile that Tony was sure he was gonna get cavities from looking at it. “You’re my one and only, pumpkin.”

Blinking away the tears that were forming in his eyes, Tony swallowed down a soft sob and buried his face in the crook of Steve’s neck and tried to cover it up with a laugh. “You are such a sap, Rogers. Why have I put up with your and your sap for all these years?”

The arms around his waist tightened even more and he felt Steve rest his head against Tony’s. “Because we’ve known each since grade school, been best friends since for-fucking-ever and have dated since high school? Or maybe because I’ve been there for you at every high and low point in your life and helped you through some real tough points? Or perhaps because of my insanely good looks and unbelievable charm and great humor?”

That prompted Tony to look up from Steve’s neck and smirked teasingly up at him. “Oh you mean when you were 2 feet tall and weighed under 10 pounds?” Which in turned prompted Steve to squawk in mock-outrage and drive his fingers into Tony’s sides, causing Tony to twitch and giggle and the tickling.

“Hey! Don’t be mean! And I was _not_ that small, you little bastard!” Giggling like a mad man, Tony’s smirk turned into a wide smile as he tried to wriggle out of Steve’s tickling hands and his tight grip on him while also attempting to hold back his laughter.

“Oh come on, Steve, you were a _shrimp_! You were smaller than _me_ and I’m a year younger than you!” He then held back a shriek when Steve wrapped an arm around his neck and rubbed his knuckles against his head.

“Oh yeah? Well, look how the tables have turned now, Stark! Who’s the shrimp now?” They laughed and Tony kept trying to wriggle out of Steve’s grip and Steve kept tickling him or rub his knuckles against Tony’s skull.

When he finally let go and they both calmed down from their laughing, Steve took Tony by the shoulders and pulled him close while smiling softly. “Okay, I’m going to take a quick shower and change into something cozier. How about you order take-out and pick a movie and I’ll join you in ten minutes?” Tony smiled sweetly and nodded, his hair adorably ruffled after their little play fight and his big brown eyes still sparkling with mischief.

“Sure. Anything special you’re hungry for tonight?” Steve smiled and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to his fiancé’s nose before gently letting go and running his hand through his very ruffled hair.

“Surprise me. You know what I like, doll.” Tony mock-grimaced and batted at his hand with one arm while covering his hair with the other arm.

“Oi! Hands off the merchandise, you cretin! You’re messing it up!” But he kept smiling very widely and that mischievous spark in his eyes was still apparent so Steve wasn’t too concerned about Tony being too mad about his hair or the roughhousing. So he just smirked back and ruffled Tony’s hair more thoroughly for good measure, ignoring Tony’s outraged squawk.

“Alright, alright, sorry for trying to help. I’ll leave you to sorting out that rat’s nest on your head on your own if you so wish. If you can.” His smile widened a little when he heard Tony mock growl at him and snorted out a laugh when he felt his boyfriend push him towards the bathroom, barely moving him an inch.

“Oh, just go already you big jerk! I don’t want you to reek of sweat when we sit down to watch movies and have dinner.” Steve just laughed and bowed exaggeratedly and playfully at Tony, a big smile spreading over his face.

“As you wish, your highness. I shall return to you post haste.” He pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and turned to leave. “I love you sweetheart.” And with that he left the room and headed towards the bathroom.

Tony shook his head and smiled fondly after his boyfriend and rolled his eyes at his ridiculousness. He chuckled a little and turned in the direction of the door, saying very softly, “I love you too.”

He then went back over to the couch to put his laptop and coffee mug away and also fluffing up the pillows for a nice dinner and movie night.

He was thinking of what to order, about whether he’d rather want pizza or Chinese food tonight, when suddenly his phone started ringing. He looked up and over to the coffee table where he’d placed the phone earlier and just stared at it dumbly for a few long seconds. Who could be calling him at this hour? Most of his friends were probably having dinner right about now too, so it couldn’t be them. Maybe his boss wanted him to cover a shift because of last second changes? Or maybe-

Tony froze when he picked up the phone and read name on the display.

“Oh fucking great.”

* * *

Steve was on cloud nine.

Sure, he’d been on cloud nine for several months now. Ever since he’d come home from Syria and he’d finally, _finally_ , asked Tony to marry him and Tony had said yes, everything had felt so wonderful and nothing had been able to bring him down.

If anyone had told his five-year old self that he would one day be in a romantic relationship with his best friend and eventually be engaged to him, he was pretty sure it would blow his five-year old mind. But here he was, twenty-three years old and had already found the love of his life and would one day be able to call him his husband.

He must’ve been born under a lucky star in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, because could not believe how lucky he was.

His mother had always adored Tony, ever since she’d first met him when Steve had come running up to her after that first day of kindergarten with a big, happy grin on his face as he introduced his new friend Tony to her and asked if he could come home with him tomorrow. And so when he’d told her that he wanted to ask him to marry him, she’d been over the moon and very quick to give him her ring and tell him to make him happy and treat him well. Which was more a thing of courtesy than anything else, because the idea of hurting Tony in any way made Steve’s skin crawl and feel like he’d been punched in the stomach.

Tony was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he’d be damned if he ever let himself forget it.

When they met back in kindergarten Tony had been very quiet, pensive and barely talked or made any moves without being asked to and barely even then. Heck, he hardly ever smiled or laughed in a way that didn’t feel forced or held back. Steve had been the one to ask or decide what games they should play for the most part and Tony just sort of went along with it. But with time and as Tony became more comfortable around him and the other kids, he’d slowly but surely started to come out of his shell and became happier, more confidant and started to make more jokes and decisions for himself. And as they made their way through school together Steve felt as though he was allowed to see Tony grow stronger, braver and eventually discover himself and realize what he wanted and who he wanted to be despite how his father wanted him to take over Stark Industries and be exactly like him.

Steve growled as he threw his shirt on the floor, getting ready for his shower. Just thinking of Howard Stark made his blood boil and made him want to punch something or someone. And if he could have his pick, he’d really wish to punch Howard in the face, hard enough to at least break his nose and maybe knock a few teeth out.

He had never liked the man, even as a child and his terrible behavior, drinking and child abuse flew way over his head. Back then he had just thought he was mean and a jerk, but it rarely bothered him too much since he and Tony spent most of their time and his house rather than Tony’s. But as he got older he realized more and more just how terrible Howard was and started to outright hate the man’s guts and made no secret to Tony or any of their friends what he thought of him. And Howard had never liked him either, both because he was _‘a poor and lowly nobody from Brooklyn’_ and _‘would never amount to anything’_ and _‘was a poor influence’_ etc. Though in retrospect Steve thought that Howard was probably worried and concerned that Steve would try to out him as a child abuser and reveal how the Stark family looked behind closed doors, which Steve gladly would have done if he hadn’t worried that Tony would be put in the system and taken away from him after Child Protective Services got involved. Which he couldn’t afford, because what if it didn’t help and he just ended up some place worse?

Still, the fact that Tony had turned out as amazing, selfless and kind as he had in face of all the emotional, verbal and even physical abuse that Howard had put him through over the years still amazed Steve, and he was very happy to see how much better Tony was doing ever since he’d moved out of his parents’ place and moved in with him. Sure, he’d had to work through a lot of issues and still had trouble with some things, but he was doing so much better now. He was smiling every day, making jokes constantly and his confidence and ambitions felt so much more genuine now than it ever had when they were kids and he’d talked about taking over Stark Industries and building weapons just like his dad. It felt like watching a bird finally being let out of its cage and being allowed to try out its wings and learn to fly and Steve was so happy and proud of his fiancé.

He snorted to himself and turned on the warm water, stepping into the shower. How was it that even now, almost six months after having proposed to him, that word still made him so freaking happy and smile so wide it almost split his face in two? Steve hadn’t dated too much before Tony, only having gone on a few dates with a girl here and there, the only one who’d ever meant anything was Peggy Carter and she’d moved away to another state just before they were about to start high school. And despite being kind of sweet on her, it had never been much more than a crush and they’d only really kissed once and it was during a game of Truth or Dare at a slumber party at Sharon’s house. Tony had been his first real- and only- boyfriend and he’d never been happier than when he had Tony all to himself.

Because Tony had always been there for him, just as he’d always been there for him. Even way back in kindergarten when he was little squirt with no muscle mass and shorter than all the other kids in their class and was hotheaded, brash and more than ready to tell any one off for being a bully and even raise his fists when he felt he had too. Tony had been there to help him to the nurse or even take care of a few wounds himself as they got older. And he’d also try to help out in a few fights and get bullies to back off, because while Tony was compact and didn’t look very muscular he was scrappy as hell and never backed down. They had that in common, even after Steve hit his growth spurt and got all his muscles.

Tony had always liked him. Despite being from a rather financially limited family, having very little aside from his art degree and a rather mediocre job and not really being that eye-catching until he got big and muscle-y, Tony had always looked to him as a hero and the reason he was still alive today. Especially during their sophomore year when Tony had come to his house in tears, a big bruise on his face and admitted that he’d had thoughts of killing himself and that Howard had hit him and his mother did nothing. That year had been extremely tough to get through and Steve’s mom had been adamant about calling the police and Tony getting professional help, which Tony had been equally adamant about not getting it because ‘dad would never allow it or pay for it.’ So Steve had done absolutely everything he could and made sure Tony always felt loved and sat with him for hours on end whenever he needed to talk or just wanted to be held while he cried. It had been tough, but they’d gotten through it. And once they had and Tony felt better, he’d taken Steve out on date under the stars and gave a long speech about how grateful he was for all the help and how much he loved him for all that he had done for him. And Steve had just said that he was worth it.

Tony was always worth it.

Steve got out of the shower after a nice, warm shower and quickly got dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before he made his way back to the living room, only to pause as he heard Tony’s voice. It sounded like he was on the phone but also like he was holding himself back from yelling.

“-No, I have no intention of- look, it’s none of your goddamn business anymore, you cut me off! And I am _not_ going to beg for forgiveness for shit I didn’t do-“ He cut himself off and Steve stopped in the doorway, just out of sight so he could verify who the caller was. Although he had a very strong feeling he already knew who it was.

“No, _fuck_ you and _fuck_ my language, I am _not_ going to try and be polite with you! It’s not like _you’ve_ ever made that attempt yourself. And _no_ , I am _not_ going to do that, no way in hell! I love him and I am not going to dump the love of my life just because you disapprove, _dad_!”

Steve’s body went cold for one long second before his blood started to boil. Howard. Of course he’d somehow managed to find out about their engagement. He had no idea how the man could have found out about it since neither Steve or Tony had posted anything about on any social media and they had only told their closest friends about it, but it didn’t really matter. Howard had somehow learned about it and was trying to tell Tony to break it off.

And despite everything, there was a very tiny, insecure part of Steve that felt relieved at Tony’s words because it was still confounded him why he had settled for someone like him. Despite how many times Tony had told him that he loved him and he was happy to be his and didn’t care how much money they had or how small their apartment was. He was happy and didn’t need anything else but Steve and the rest was irrelevant.

“Why the fuck do you even care? You haven’t called me or tried to make any contact since I left for college! You know, when you disowned me! And even if you hadn’t, last I checked, I am an adult! So my life is none of your fucking business and you don’t get a say in anything I do anymore! So _fuck_ you, _fuck_ your bullshit and _fuck_ your _fucking_ disapproving crap! And mark my words, if you try to meddle with me or our lives ever again, I swear I will make you regret it!”

And with that Tony hung up, slammed the phone down on the coffee table and then sighed loudly and a bit shakily. Steve slowly walked up to the door and leaned against the doorframe, looking over at his fiancé worriedly. Only minutes earlier he has been relaxed and teasing him lightheartedly and now he looked to be on the verge of tears. He was sitting on the couch with his knees pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped around himself, looking down at his feet and his still ruffled hair hanging down in his face.

Steve slowly made his way over to the couch, but made sure to walk on the one squeaky floor board so he wouldn’t startle Tony, and sat down next to him on the couch, close enough for Tony to find comforting but also not too close so he wouldn’t make him uncomfortable.

“Hey, are you okay honey?” He asked him softly, just a bit above a whisper, but Tony still jerked a little and tightened his grip around himself and pulled his legs even closer to himself. He took a shaky breath and blinked hard but refused to look over at Steve.

“…You heard that, right?” Steve nodded slowly, making sure to keep his hands to himself. As much as he wanted to hold and comfort Tony when he looked like this, he knew better than to do before he made it clear that he was open for it. It would only make things worse and make Tony pull away even more.

 _‘Let him come to you when he’s ready.’_ Steve told himself mentally. _‘He’ll get there in his own time.’_

“I heard the end of it.” He admitted. Tony bit his lip and kept his eyes locked on his feet. Steve felt his heart clench at the sad, hurt look on his face and shuffled a little bit closer to him. “How bad was it?”

Tony sighed deeply and leaned back against the back of the couch, looking up at the ceiling and letting his arms drop to his side. He also tried to make his face look neutral and nonchalant, but it was clear that he was hurt and fighting off tears.

“Oh, you know, the usual. _‘What are you thinking? How can you be so selfish? Think of how this will make me and the company look if you do this. You are throwing your life away. I will not have a son who’s a faggot. Blah, blah, blah.’_ ” Tony rolled his eyes and made a talking duck head with his hand, and Steve had to give it to him, he was very good at keeping his emotions out of his voice. If he hadn’t known the guy for so many years he probably wouldn’t have see through the façade he was trying to put up.

Still, he didn’t say anything and shifted even closer to his fiancé.

“How did have even know about? We haven’t told him anything and it hasn’t hit the Internet, so how did he know?” Tony shrugged and pinched his lips.

“Well, apparently mom overheard it from the Van Dynes, who I assume heard it from Jan. So she told him and asked if he had heard about it, which he hadn’t. And he freaked out and called the second he heard about it. And well,” He shrugged and glanced over at Steve. “here we are.”

Steve sighed heavily and shifted over so they were now sitting less than an inch away from each other. “Are you okay? Do you need anything? Water? Space? Fresh air?” Tony shook his head, moved his legs back up on the couch and leaned most of his weight against Steve’s shoulder.

“Just… just hold me, please?” Steve definitely didn’t need to be asked twice. He quickly wrapped both of his arms around his lithe frame and pulled him close, leaning his head against Tony’s and Tony rested his forehead in the crook of his neck.

They sat like for a long time, any thoughts Steve had had about dinner and watching a movie or whatever were completely forgotten. Because Tony was clearly upset and while he wasn’t crying no one wants to have this kind of talk with a parent. Especially not when it was concerning something that any parent should be absolutely thrilled to hear about; that their child had found that one person they wanted to spend the rest of their life with and was truly happy and in love with.

It made Steve so angry that he really wanted to drive over to the Stark Mansion right away and give Howard a piece of his mind and also a good punch in nose for not even bothering to call Tony for years and only did because he wanted to talk him out of _‘being a faggot and settling with a fucking waster from Brooklyn’_. Seriously, the fucking nerve of some people, it made him loose faith in humanity some days. But Tony was still upset by his talk with his father and his biggest priority was to make sure he was okay, not to make his father pay for hurting him.

That would come later.

“I don’t regret it you know.” Tony’s voice startled him out his thoughts and made him look down at him, where he was still resting his head against his shoulder, talking into his shirt. Steve tightened his grip around his shoulders a little and raised his other hand to brush through Tony’s messy hair.

“What? What did you say, babe?” Tony smiled weakly and looked up at him with a few small tears in his big eyes.

“I don’t regret saying yes to any of it. I don’t regret going on that first date back in high school, I don’t regret moving in together in Boston and I really don’t regret accepting your proposal. I don’t care what he has to say, I love you and that trumps him disapproving of us and everything else he thinks of me. He might think that I’m throwing my life away and that I’m just rebelling against him for the hell of it and we’ll never last for longer than a year or whatever but I know better.”

He smiled a bit wider and pressed a kiss to his throat, nuzzling his nose against his skin. “Steve, I’ve been a hot mess for years. All the shit that Howard has put me through, the shit he said and did to me, the bad experiences I’ve had with bad guys and nasty girls… I don’t want to think about I’d be like if it without you. You’ve pulled me out of so many bad situations and helped me through so many dark points in my life that I’m not sure I’d still be alive today if it weren’t for you.”

Tony had to take a deep breath after finishing that sentence, collecting himself before looking up again. “I’ll never be sorry for falling in love with you, Steve. And I know I’ll never regret marrying you. Maybe we have to wait a year, maybe five or maybe even ten years to get married, or maybe it’ll be a cheap, small affair with our friends, I don’t care. And maybe we will spend our lives never going above average income and living situation, but I know for a fact that we’ll be happy together.”

He pressed another kiss to Steve’s throat. “I’ll be happy. I will always be happy with you.” And goddamn if that didn’t make Steve’s eyes water and he hugged Tony tighter and pressed a long, lingering kiss to his head.

“I’m happy with you too, Tony. And I always will be. And I’m so happy that you want to spend your life with me and that you still love me after all these years.” He gently pushed Tony away and brushed his hair out of his face, stroking his fingers over his cheek. “You’re the love of my life Tony. You always have been and you always will be. And no Howard Stark or other assholes will ever change that or make me go away. What we have is always going to be worth fighting for and I will never, ever, leave you or go away because some asshole says so or disapproves of us. Our bond is too strong to break over something like that.” He leaned forward, kissing his forehead, nose and cheek. “I promise.”

Tony smiled and sniffed softly, closing his eyes to kill his tears and taking another breath. “I know.” He looked back up and pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “But thank you for telling me, Steve. You’re the sweetest.” Then he groaned and slumped against Steve, looking very tired and buried his face in his shirt.

“Ugh, emotions are so draining, why do we even have them?” Steve just chuckled and shook his head, wrapping his arm around Tony’s shoulders.

“Okay, let’s switch it up a little. I’ll call and order some Chinese food and you pick out the worst, most laughable movie you can find on Netflix. I’m in the mood for a bad movie night and to laugh at terrible effects and bad acting.” And Tony immediately lit up and lunged for the remote.

“Oh, I have the perfect thing for that! I’ve been dying to see this with you; it’s the best of the worst! You ever heard of The Room? Of course you have, everybody has! Anyway, I have never actually seen it, only a clip here or there, but it’s one of the worst movies of all time and also super funny-“

Steve laughed softly, shaking his head fondly as the dialed up their favorite Chinese restaurant and ordered all while Tony was still rambling on about the movie and instead of pulling up Netflix he was flicking through different channels. And even though Tony was still talking a mile a minute and barely stopped to breathe, not even looking at Steve anymore, Steve felt his heart swell and warmth spread through his body as he looked at him.

Because this, _this_ is what made everything they’d both been through up until today worth it. All the fights they’d gotten into, all the trouble and low points they’d fought their way out of and all the war he had seen in his tours of combat, it had all been worth it, because at the end of the day, he had Tony there to brighten his day and fill his life with love. Everything that they had been through together had only made their bond stronger and all the storms that they'd weathered made Steve absolutely sure that there was nothing that they couldn't get through as long as they were together. Sure, it was probably not the last time they’d ever hear from Howard Stark or have other troubles come into their lives from nowhere, but Steve knew they would get through it, just like they always had before. Together.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos, comment and leave your thoughts! Thanks for reading!


End file.
